Disaster Operations Directorate
Fact SheetFact Sheet
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Operations Directorate DOD) is
responsible for coordinating and facilitating the federal disaster response activities needed to save
lives, reduce suffering and protect property in communities across the country that have been
overwhelmed by a major disaster or emergency.
The directorate recently has established a new generation of disaster response teams called
Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMATs). IMATs were developed from an expanded
concept of the former Emergency Response Teams (ERT) and the Federal Incident Response
Support Teams. The new IMATs are full-time, rapid response teams with dedicated staff able to
deploy within two hours and arrive at an incident within 12 hours. Their role is to support the local
incident commander, coordinate federal response activities and provide information about the
situation and current conditions to FEMA leadership. Two national and three regional teams are now
operational.
Over the past two years, FEMA’s DOD has enhanced coordination and connectivity with its
interagency, military and DHS partners through upgrades to its network of operations centers.
Operations centers at the national and regional levels are responsible for coordinating and
sustaining response operations; maintaining situational awareness and a common operating picture;
facilitating information sharing between FEMA and non-FEMA entities; and providing internal and
external stakeholders a consolidated, consistent, and accurate status of on-going incidents,
responses or potential events.
Full staffing of the 24/7 National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) Watch Center and the
Regional Response Coordination Centers (RRCC), upgrades to information technology and video-
teleconferencing capabilities has greatly improved our ability to provide seamless connectivity with
all of our partners. It has also increased our effectiveness in coordinating and exchanging
information critical to ensuring smooth disaster response operations.
DOD’s new emphasis on operational planning has been critical to the improvement of the agency’s
disaster response planning and operations. Operational planners at Headquarters and in the
Regions are responsible for horizontal and vertical planning across all levels of government and
ensuring continuity between long range planning, current operations planning, and field element
incident action planning.
FEMA also has been coordinating closely with its federal partners to expand the number of Mission
Assignments that have been prepared in advance to facilitate rapid response to incidents. FEMA
now has 236 pre-scripted mission assignments with 33 departments and agencies, up from 44 in
2006. The Gap
Disaster Operations Directorate
Fact SheetFact Sheet
Analysis Program (GAP) is another critical operational planning capability designed to identify limita-
tions at the local, state and national levels that could impede response operations. The objective is
to strengthen the capabilities of states and to reduce their reliance on federal support by developing
creative solutions that leverage the capabilities of states and local jurisdictions and the private sec-
tor. GAP has since been expanded beyond the hurricane-prone states to include all states and en-
compass all hazards incidents.
The Disaster Operations Directorate coordinates frequently with its interagency partners through on-
going meetings of the Emergency Support Function Leaders Group and Regional Interagency Steer-
ing Committees. The Department of Defense plays an especially critical role, supporting FEMA in
overall planning, coordinating and integrating Defense Support to Civil Authorities. This coordination
has substantially increased in the past several years and the number of liaisons who support FEMA,
from DoD as well as other federal departments and agencies has substantially increased in the last
several years.
In another significant development, the Disaster Operations Directorate has established a formal
Disaster Emergency Communications (DEC) program at the Headquarters and Regional level, which
is designed to coordinate federal all-hazards tactical emergency communications support for state,
local and tribal emergency responders during major incidents. The DEC program is designed to en-
sure that disaster emergency communications and tactical interoperability capabilities can be rapidly
and effectively provided to protect people and property; ensure the adequacy of FEMA’s own emer-
gency communications capabilities; and help our state, local, and tribal partners develop their own
capabilities. Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Groups have been estab-
lished to better support states in planning for and responding to disasters.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work
together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to,
recover from, and mitigate all hazards.